Long-range haulage conveyer system



M. A. KENDALL LONG RANGE HAULAGE CONVEYER SYSTEM Dec. 25, 1 951 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1949 kg oZm mam:

-Dec. 25, 1951 Filed March 11, 1949 M. A. KENDALL LONG RANGE HAULAGECONVEYER SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 UPPER R UN LOWER RUN Dec. 25, 1951KENDALL 2,580,229

LONG RANGE HAULAGE CONVEYER Filed March 11, 1949 i 3 sheets-sheet :5

Patented Dec. 25 1951 LONG-RANGE HAULAGE CONVEYER v SYSTEM Myron A. wKendall, Aurora, 111., assignor to Stephens-Adamson Mfg. a corporationof .ApplicatioiiMarch 11, 1949, Serial No; 80,7 90

This invention relates to long range haulage by belt conveyors, and hasfor its principal object to provide for continuous haulage in oppositedirections while permitting any conveyor unit to be separately emptied,stopped, serviced or repaired without interrupting the continuity offlow in either direction- Generally speaking, this is accomplished byproviding two tandem series of belt conveyors, side by side, runninginopposite directions with all the conveyors in each; series running inthe same directionbut opposite to that of the other, and each (except.the last) normally delivering to the next in.series,togprovidecontinuous flow throughout each serieaand equipping each con-,

veyor unit ,(except, the. last) .in each series with means to transfer aload from itsupperrun to the lower run of the; next conveyor in theother series, and means to transfer load from its lower run to the upperrun of the next conveyor in the other series. I r

With this arrangement, by. merely throwing agate, any conveyor or unitcan be .by-pas'sed without interrupting the continuity of now in eachdirection. The by-passed conveyor'can be stopped, loaded oremptiedwithinits own length, and canbe subjected to, any sort ofmaintenance,

service,;repair,' or replacement while the haulage continuesuninterrupted in both directions.

' In the drawings: 7

Fig. 1 is a planview'of a-lengthof the two series of conveyors, onewith'normal "haulage to' the right, as indicated by arrows in solidlines, and emergency or by-pass haulage to the left, as indicated byarrows in dotted lines; and the other with normal haulage to the left,as indicated by arrows in solid lines, and emergency or by-pass haulageto the right as indicated by arrows with dotted lines:

Fig.2 is aside elevation of a portion of the series with normal haulageon the upper run toward the right; 7 7 r Fig. 31s a similar view oftheother series with normal haulage on the upper run to the left;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the adjacent ends of two conveyors ofeach'series, or the adjacent ends of four conveyors, two organizedfornormal haulage to the right and two organized for normal haulagetothe left-withprovision for emer-" gency or by-pass haulage; I I

Fig. 5 is a section taken'oneach 55 of Fig. 4; g

Fig. 6 is a section takenoneach of the lines 6-6ofFig. 4; Figu'T isacross-section through any'one'of the of the lines 7 Claims. (01.198-45) conveyor units in the intermediate portion-indicatinghaulage inone direction on the upper run and the opposite direction on the lowerrun; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of thefour-endsections illustrated in-Fig.4.

These diagrammatic illustrations are chosen for simplicity, andpreferred for that reason.-

In Fig. 2, the diagram showsaconveyor unit A- for haulage to the righton the upper run, and to the left on its lower run. its head end 10 isarranged to deliver to the tail end ll of another unit B through anormal service chute indicated,

by thearrow I2.

The tail end I 3 of the .conveyor unit A is arranged to receive from theheadend 14. of the;

conveyor unitC through anormal service chute indicated by the arrow I5.

Practical considerations limitthe length of a single conveyor unit, butan arrangement such as indicated in Fig. Zissatisfactoryfor long range,haulage by any number of units in a series. In Fi 3, a n y un t D i9 7ma -h u ag to the left on the upper run has its head end l6. arranged todeliver to the tail end H of a conveyor unit E through a normal servicechute l8, and its tail end I9 to receive from the head end 201 ofaconveyor unit F through a normal servic chute indicated by the arrow 21.The units A, B,"and C correspond to those" shown at the upper side ofFig. 1; and the units D, E, and'F correspond. to those shown at thelower side of Fig. 1. a a V r In Fig. 8, the intersection or overlappingof thehead end 14 with the tail end l3 of the conveyors C and A,respectively, and the head end Iii with the tail-end I! of the conveyorsD and E, respectively, are shown in perspective.

From this, it will appear that the upper run 22- of the conveyor unit Chas its head end 14 arranged to deliver through' the normal servicechute I5 to the 'upper run 23 of theconveyor-A. Also, there is provisionby throwing a gate 24 for delivery instead from" the upper run -22through an auxiliary service chute or byepass chute 25 to the lower run26 of the conveyor unit D, which is travelling tothe right in the samedirection as the upper run 22 ofthe conveyor unit C. I Also, in Fig. 8,it will be seen that the upper run 21 of the conveyor unit D has itshead end arranged to deliver through a normal service chute [8 to theupper run of the conveyor unit E, or by meansof a gate 29 to deliverthrough an auxiliary service or by-pass chute 30 .to the lower'run 3I-ofthe conveyor unit -C.

Assuming the section Fig. 5 to be taken on the line 5-5 at the right inFig. 4, the normal service chute l5 appears at the left in Fig. 5leading to the inclined portion of the upper run 23 of the conveyor unitA, while the auxiliary service chute 25 extends across to the conveyor Dof the other series, and delivers .Onto ,the inclined portion of thelower run 25. 7

Assuming that the conveyor unit A is to be by-passed by running thematerial from the upper run of the unit 0 along th e lower @1126 of theunit D, it must then be transferred to the upper run of the unit B. Thisis accomplished by an auxiliary service or bYfiRfl Sfi chute which isshown at the left in Fig.4. betweenthe lower run 26 of the unit D andthe upper run 33 of the unit B. Its positionisalso indicated in Fig. 3by the arrow 32.

The unit E in Fig. 8 is shown with accruesponding auxiliary service orby-pass chute 34.

Eac c n e or ex pt th last lnreeeh s r e w have a n ma er e chu r es onn to th Shown at 2 l5, 1.8, a d 2.! t en ierm f om the or e on up er run:Q Qfl C021- veyor unit in the series to the upper ,of;the ex u in t eseies a ,fqrwers v lir ati n,-

A s ei te wi h t os norma e ee chut a d controlled y means of a atee reonq in to thoseindicated at;2-.4;and 29 in Eig.; 8,will be an auxiliaryservice or by-pass chute correspondingto those shownat25 and 13flinFfig.,8. Also, each .tailend 'in the series, except the; last, will have anauxiliary chute corresponding to those shown .at 321and 34 .in Fig.3 and:3! .in Fig. 6 for connecting athe lower run of ..th e.,one conveyor tothe upper run of the nextin the opposite series.

With this arrangement, merely throwing the corresponding gate to change-the transfer from a normal series chute to an auxiliary or-by-passchute willbe suflicient'to cut-out aconveyor unit. It may then bestoppedirnmediately. :It may be allowed to clear itself by running itslength, and afterwardsstopped. Hence, it-will be available for any sortof inspection, service, repair, replacement, for any length of timewhile the flow co ti ues .in'ho hr-di eot ohs.un nte rupted. Theoperator'does not have to choose his time or conform it toahyfictionbyapy otherv operator. Throwing the igate one yvaybylpasses the unit.Throwing it the,g,other way,p uts itv back in service.

A basic unit may comprise a-belt with its support, drive, etc., a normalservice ehute at the head -end to transfer load from itspupperrun to theupper runofthe next in seriesfa'n auxiliary servicechutetotransfer-loadfrom its mpper run to the ;lower run pf the-,nextinseries, a a e e e t o e ete zt zehoo t tween t em. a an'a xiliar e vi. eohute t t nsie loadsf m its. lowe ru re zth wt i ens zt the upperruncfth otherise e The last unit in each series-may have -a;id ischarge chutefrom the upper; une-on y andthe first unit of each. seriesmayghaveadischarge chute fromthe lower. run only.

The many advantages oi a conveyor system embodying the present inventionmay be illustrated by the followi g:

The vey r units may b started insser es. the lastbelt first, toprevent-any pilegppatjhe intersection, or overlapping. and1rzt ;;keep;the starting load low.

Any unit ylbe' topp d io m nor iormaior of belt conveyors in tandem 113gcause without interference with the flow in either direction.

Any unit may be serviced to any extent from some small adjustment toreplacement of belts and motors without shut-down of any other part ofthe system. Hence, regular and adequate service may be expected. l

u i ma :le nh emr e Without interrupting the flow of material in eitherdi- ;rection.

the normal course of things, belts must bereplaee d, mechanical partsmust be inspected and lubricated periodically, and this inventionpermits a progressive, regular inspection, lubrication, and replacementwithout interrupting flow in either =dir.ec.tion.

I elee 1. In longrange haulage apparatus, a series of :belt conveyorsrunning in the same direction and adapted to deliver the head end of oneto the tailendof the next in series, a second series o belt c nv ors unnn in th o r on 0P" of belt conveyors running in the 1 same directionandadapted to deliver the head end of one to the'tail end ofthe next-inseries, a second series of belt conveyorslaterally 'of fset'f-rom' andrunning in the direction opposite to that of the first series andadapted to deliver the-head end of one'to-the-tail end of the next inseries, and a chute for conducting material from the upper run of aconveyor-in one series to the lower run of the next conveyor intheotherseries.

B- vI s ns h u a .erpere u e S ri s o elt on e o s' urn ns nthesemereetien. an a t d to deliverf he he sad 9 .9ne. o

the tail end of,the.nextin series, alsecondjseries of bel .e ve or runnn the 1 d e on nnosite l et e the s ri and aoe te'd to -ee i' e ter leafrom one ru ,o eneeqnve er; more s s h o te o th e .,eonteyer' [in (the.

when f om the h ad end. o one t .12

of the next in series, and mea'ns t t other" series.

:4- n ess se se ulese .a h r te be ser esn in the same direction o.-b.el -e9 ero e n eeertes t eelw the .z m e z h e o 1 9. 11 Y eeev orsii -the e 'ifefiei 91 posite to that of the first series and adapted-todeli e hornt eheadzessl e eeJaethe tai -en o vt nvs lie refer -ir onerun of one conveyor in s erlieis to the;

o po ite re -19 e he 1 133 1 2993: 0 e

san a senato -controllers re attas-1 e lmeensonve o t theneX- 3. .he. 6

eeti nre ne i eet th t-e h for transferring load fro I L erie to se ieesi ;the SI: a n e chute for each conveyor except:v e last eesi o -shoreto ing from'the head end of the preceding conveyor of said series, asecond series of conveyors laterally offset from and parallel to theconveyors of said first series, each conveyor of said second serieshaving a tail end for receiving a load and a head end from which theload is delivered, the

upper runs of the conveyors of said second series being driven in thedirection opposite to said first-named direction, and the conveyors ofeach series] being generally laterally registered with I the conveyorsof the other series, a chute for delivering loads to the tail end ofeach succeeding conveyor of the second series from the head,

end of the preceding conveyor of such series, and

means for rendering any of said chutes inopera. tive and for deliveringa load from the upper run of the head end of a conveyor of one series tothe lower run of a conveyor of the other series. '7. Inlong rangehaulage apparatus, a first pair of conveyors in generally end to endrelation having their upper runs traveling in the same direction, asecond pair of conveyors arranged generally in end to end relation andhaving their upper runs driven in the opposite direction, means fortransferring articles from the leading conveyor of each pair to thefollowing conveyor of the same pair or from the leading conveyor of onepair to the lower run of the leading conveyor of the other pair, andmeans in the lower run of the leading conveyor of each pair for removingarticles therefrom.

MYRON A. KENDALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,416,763 Thomv May 23, 19221,476,023 Phelps Dec, 4, 1923 2,003,097 Vickery May 28, 1935 2,108,869Sandmeyer Feb. 22, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 487,641Germany Dec, 12, 1929

